End loading staple magazine



March 23, 1965 A. G. JUILFS END LOADING STAPLE MAGAZINE Filed March 6, 1963 1 a z u- ZNVENTOR. ALBERT G. JUILFs,

ATTORN ENS.

United States Patent m 3,174,672 END LOADING STAPLE MAGAZINE Albert G. Juilfs, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Senco Products, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 263,166 9 Claims. (Cl. 227120) This invention relates to an improved magazine for feeding staples, nails, hog rings, tacks and/or brads, and the like, into position before a suitable driver, and more specifically, to such an improved magazine which is loaded from the rear end rather than from the front, top, or bottom and difiers, in part, from other known rear end loading magazines in that there are no parts which must be removed from the magazine when it is loaded.

While the staple magazine of this invention may be used with many types of fastening devices, it has great and particular utility in conjunction with portable pneumatic staplers adapted to drive relatively long heavy duty staples and nails. However, although the following description and discussion are primarily in terms of pneumatic stapling guns, it is to be understood that this is not to be construed as a limitation on the invention.

In a typical pneumatic stapler, the handle portion and trigger are generally parallel to and overlie the staple magazine. Therefore, in conventional top loading magazines, it is necessary to provide sufficient space above the magazine and below the handle and trigger so that a staple may be placed into the magazine. It will immediately be apparent that as the staple guns are improved so that they can adequately drive larger and longer staples and nails, more and more such space must be provided. This, of course, will have a direct influence on increasing the height, size and Weight of the staple gun.

It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide a staple magazine which is lighter, more compact, and more convenient to use than has heretofore been possible.

More specifically, it is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved staple magazine construction which may be loaded from the rear end so that the space above the magazine which is now used in conventional top loading magazines for loading purposes may readily be used for air storage in conjunction with the main driving piston of the tool; this is very important in reducing the size of the tool, and in improving the power to weight ratio.

It is another object of this invention to provide a rear end loading staple magazine which will accommodate relatively long staples without requiring an increase in the space above the staple magazine and below the handle and trigger of the staple gun.

In other presently known rear end loading magazines, there are separate, sometimes loose feeder parts which must be removed in loading the magazine, and hence which may be lost, dropped, bent or broken when removed. It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a staple magazine which may be loaded from the rear end without removal of any part from the mag azme.

Another disadvantage of the conventional, top loading staple magazine is that it can be loaded only with the stapler in the upright position. In such a magazine, a door or closure member is opened, and a plurality of staples are dropped into position on a staple track. The door or closure member is then closed, and the gun is ready for operation.

It is therefore still another object of the instant invention to provide a staple magazine having the above noted advantages, which may be loaded and unloaded in any and all positions.

3,174,672 latentecl Mar. 23, 1965 Still another object of this invention is the provision of a staple magazine which does not require an outer housing. While the magazine of this invention can of course be shielded with an outer housing as is conventional in most presently available magazines, elimination of such a housing will reduce the total weight of the magazine assembly by as much as as well as reducing its overall bulkiness. Also, by eliminating the outer housing, the supply of staples in the magazine is visible at all times, and an operator can readily note his supply of staples before starting on any given job. This construction which does away with the outer housing also eliminates the necessity for periodically cleaning out dirt or foreign matter which in conventional stapling devices, accumulates in the magazine.

Another advantage of this staple magazine is the convenience of being able to partially load this magazine at any time during operation. It is not necessary to cock the staple feeder at the time of loading. The operator may wait until it is convenient for him to stop and cock the staple feeder behind the newly inserted staples.

It is also an object of this invention to decrease the number of operations performed by the operator in loading the staple magazine; that is, while conventional magazines require the staple feeder to be cocked before the staples are inserted, and the subsequent release of the staple feeder, the magazine of this invention may be loaded with staples and then cooked with a single motion.

Another advantage of this staple magazine is the fact that is can be very easily unloaded at any time during operation or with any quantity of staples in the magazine.

Numerous other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to the skilled worker in the art as this specification proceeds. Reference will be made from time to time to the accompanying drawings which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the invention, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is basically a center, vertical sectional view of the staple magazine of this invention, also showing the basic elements of a stapling machine to which it maybe attached, with, however, some parts shown in full and other part broken away;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that the magazine of this invention is adapted to be mounted at the base .of a stapling machine including a handle portion 10, a body portion which includes a cylinder 11, piston 12, staple driver 13, and a nose portion 14. As is entirely conventional, the nose portion 14 includes a staple drive track 15 into which the magazine of this invention is adapted to successively feed a plurality of staples and in which the staple driver 13 is reciprocated at the urging of the iston 12. The various elements of the stapling machine just described do not form a part of this invention, and hence neither the description nor the drawings thereof are in any way intended to be complete.

The magazine of this invention includes a staple support rail indicated generally in FIG. 1 at 16. As seen in cross-section in FIG. 3, the staple support rail can behollow in construction, including a top surface 17, side walls 18 and 19, and a bottom plate 20, If desired, the staple support rail could be made out of a solid piece of stock, but the construction shown is to be preferred in view of the significantly lighter weight. In any event, it is understood that the staple support rail 16 will be of a width substantially equal to the inside dimension-of the crown of the staple the magazine is designed to accommodate, and the side walls 18 and 19 must be suflicient size to' accommodate the length of the staples being used.

It will, of course, be apparent that by varying these dimensions, the magazine of this invention can be made to a'cc o'nunodate a wide variety of staples. The outer end of t-he'hollow staple support rail may be closed by means of 515mg 21 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) secured in place by any spimue'rasenin such as screws, pins or welding. Preferably; the end of the plug 21 will be beveled as at 22 to faeili'tate' the loading of staples thereon.

"As shown in FIG. 3, the nose portion 14 is provided withfain inverted U shaped opening 23 leading into the stapledr'ive track 15. The front end of the staple support rjailf lfi'm'ust be aecurately aligned with this opening, so

' that a pushcy oif staples 24 carried by the staple support rail maybe fed" directly through the opening 23 into the staple drive track to be driven by the staple driver 13. In the embodiment shown, the nose portion 14 is provided with a rearwardly extending tongue 25, which is adapted to bef received within the open end of the staple support rants? i The rear or right hand end of the staple support rail as vilewed in FIG. must be supported below the handle portien'mef the stapling machine. This can satisfactorily be accomplished by means of a bracket a (shown for purposes bf illustration in FIGURE 3in practice it would be llocatied at the rear or right hand end of FIG- URE 'l as earlier mentioned) extending between the handle portionlt) and the bottom member 29 of the se ia support rail so as to leave ample room between bracket and the staple support rail so that the staplefeeder carriage may clear when drawn to its rearwas radi u,

Parallel to overlying the staple support rail 16 is a track indicated in FIG. 1 at 26, As seen in FIG. 3, the guide, traclg 2 6 is provided with a central depending' channel 261. The guide track 26 is secured at b r'a t' lj 'sitha d are e guide trask .26 i fit d into an appropriate slot in' the support plate 140 stopping .sssini tth n se-P at wh lfi he right hand end is s ured to; thehandle portion 10 by means of the screw 27. The bottom surface of the ohannel'2 6a must be to the stapling machine; in FIGURE 1, the

while the stapler is in any given position. A strip of staples is simply placed over the staple support rail 16 from the rear (the right hand side as viewed in FIG. 1) and under the guide track 26, and slid over the staple detainer spring 37; this spring 37 normally prevents the staples from falling off the staple support rail 16. The

staples, however, can be easily moved back over the staple detainer spring, if desired, by applying a small amount offorce. The staple detainer spring 37 may be formed as shown in FIG. 2, and secured to the inside of the staple support rail 16 by means of the pin 38, or other suitable means. The forward end of the spring 37 is provided with a bent portion 37a extending out through the wall 18 of the staple support rail 16, and this is the member which serves to temporarily hold the staples in position until the staple feeder carriage is cocked behind them as will now be explained. (It will of course be understood that two such detainer springs can be provided if desired.)

Cocking the magazine is accomplished simply by grasping the staple feeder carriage 28 and moving it to the rear or right when viewed as in FIG. 1. This will tend to move any staples under the staple feeder arms 31 rearwardly until they encounter the projection 37a on the staple detainer spring. At this point, the staples will be restrained in the position indicated at 24a and the staple feeder arms 31 will be moved outwardly against theresistance of the small torsion springs 33, while the staple feeder carriage continues its rearward movement. The staple feeder carriage 28 is drawn back to the very end of the track 26,, or until the staple feeder arms 31 are beyond the end of the staples24a temporarily engaged by. the staple detainer spring 37, at which pointv the staple feeder arms 31 will snap back against the sides of the staple support rail, and when the staplefeeder carriage 28. is released, will serve to feed the staples toward the nose of the stapling machine by virtue of the clock spring. 34and tape. 35.

spacedabove the top surface 17 of the staple support rail by a clistance which is very slightly greater than the thickne f t e staple hi hthe. a i is-designed to accommodate. This is necessary to insure that the stapleswill be properly fed. through the opening 23'irito the staple -drive track. It should be apparent that this cpnstruction will maintain the staples in. proper alignment 91 h taple uppo t ai Slidable'on the guide track 26 .is afstaple feeder carriage 128 ..whic h, as is mostclearly seen in FIG. 3, is engag' on, the track 26 by means of the flanges 29 which be punchedin from the sides of the staple feeder carriage 28, or may be separate pieces welded therein. Extending downwardly from each side of the staple .feeder carriage 2 8 is a mounting bracket 30 in which is pivotallymoupted aforwardly extending staple feeder aijm 31 bymeans ofthe ears 31a (see alsoFIG. 2). The

ears 31g fare mounted, in the. mounting brackets 3fi by means of the, pins 32 or other suitablemeans, and the staple feeder arms 31 are/normally. biased against the side of the staple, support fail by means; of the torsion spr' 33 whichv surrounds the pin. 32.. Therefore, as shownin. FIGSII and 2, the. arms 31 will engage the staples ,24 carried by the. staple support rail 16.. The

Referring new again to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the opening 23 in the nose plate 14 and leading to the staple drive track 15 is provided with the pairs of relieved portions 39 and. 4%, corresponding in location to the spacing of the fingers 41 on the ends of the staple feeder arms 31. These relieved portions will permit the fingers 4-1 and the staple arms 31 to be moved outwardly away from the sides of the staple support rail 16, even when thestaple feeder carriage 28 is at its forwardmost position wherein the fingers 41 extend into the opening 23. The fingers 41 extend only into the opening 23, and not into the drive track 15: Further forward motion is prevented when the front or left hand edge of the staple feed carriage 28 abuts against the support plate 14. It has been found that this feature is very important to the successful practice of the instant invention, because if such relieved portions are not provided, and a strip ofstaples were loaded onto the staple support rail 16 andurgedforforwardmost position the staples would. wedge the fingers clock spring; 34. acting through .the steel tape 35-whieh iss curedto the staple 'feedercarriage as at 36, serves to nerr al ly urge the staple feedercarriage st-aple feeder; armstqward'the nose portion of thestapling machine, andj hence. will. (urge r thestaple s- .24, through the opening 23 into the staple drive track.

' Loading themagaz ineof this invention with a supply of'staples is extremely easy, andmay be'accomplished 41 outwardly between the edges of the opening 23 and the staples themselves and this would prevent the withdrawal or rearward movement of the staple feedercar,-

riage 28 or could cause damage to the;fingers 41 if force was applied.

V The removal of staples .from this magazine is also very easily accomplished. As shown in FIG. 2.,the right hand portion 31b of the staple feeder arms 31 are so formed as to be staple feeder arm release levers. 'Simply by pressing both'stapl e feeder arm release levers 31b toward the staple support rail ,sides. 18 and 19 simultaneously, the staple feeder arms will pivot around pin 32 moving fingers 41..away from'surfacesv 18 and 19., thus allowing the staplefeeder carriage=28 to be-moved past the staples to its forwardmost position. With the staple feeder carriage in this position, it is easy to. slide the staples rcarwardly (to the right in FIG. 2) over the V staple detainer spring projection 37a, by application of a little pressure, and from staple support rail l6.

It is to be understood that while this invention has been described in terms of a single exemplary embodiment, no limitation is intended thereby except insofar as is specifically set forth in the following claims. And, as earlier indicated, although the invention has been described largely in connection with the feeding of staples, it is to be noted that the invention may also be used to feed nails, hog rings, tacks and/or brads, and the like, as will be well understood by those skilled in the art. The claims are intended to embrace the feeding of any of these fasteners by the novel means of this invention.

What is claimed as new and what is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A rear end loading staple magazine comprising a staple support rail, a guide track parallel to and overlying said staple support rail, a staple feeder carriage slidable on said track, said staple feeder carriage including at least one mounting bracket extending downwardly therefrom and spaced apart from the side of said staple support rail, a staple feeder arm pivotally mounted on said mounting bracket, means for normally biasing said arm against the side of said staple support rail, manually actuatable means for moving said staple feeder arm away from said staple support rail and spring means normally urging said staple feeder carriage in one direction.

2. The magazine claimed in claim 1 w erein said staple support rail is provided with means for releasably holding a plurality of staples thereon.

3. A rear end loading staple magazine comprising a staple support rail, a guide track parallel to and overlying said staple support rail, a staple feeder carriage slidable on said track, said staple feerer carriage including at least one mounting bracket, a staple feeder arm pivotally mounted on said bracket, means normally biasing said staple feeder arm against the side of said staple support rail, and a manually actuatable lever on said arm on one side of the point at which said arm is pivotally mounted on said bracket, whereby said staple feeder arm can manually be pivoted against its bias away from the staple support rail side.

4. A staple magazine and feeding structure for use in a stapling machine including a nose plate having a staple drive track and an opening leading thereto, said structure comprising a staple support rail in alignment with said opening, a guide track parallel to and overlying said staple support rail, a staple feeder carriage slidable on said track, said carriage including at least one mounting bracket extending downwardly therefrom and spaced apart from the side of said staple support rail, a forwardly extending staple feeder arm pivotally mounted on said bracket, means for normally biasing said staple feeder arm against the side of said staple support rail, said opening leading to said staple drive track having a relieved portion to accommodate said forwardly extending staple feeder arm whereby said staple feeder arm may move away from the side of said staple support rail against the resistance of said biasing means with ample space for a staple to move freely between the forwardly extending staple feeder arm and the staple support rail, and spring means normally urging said staple feeder carriage toward said opening.

5. The magazine claimed in claim 4 including manually actuatable means for moving said staple feeder arm away from said staple support rail.

6. The magazine claimed in claim 5 wherein said manually actuatable means for moving said staple feeder arm away from said staple support rail comprises a manually actuatable lever secured to said staple feeder arm.

7. A staple magazine and feeding structure for use in a stapling machine including a nose plate and a staple drive track and an opening leading thereto, said structure comprising a tongue on said nose plate, a staple support rail engaging said tongue and being supported thereby, a guide track parallel to and overlying said staple support rail, a staple feeder carriage slidable on said track, said staple feeder carriage including a pair of mounting brackets extending downwardly therefrom, one on each side of said staple support rail, a staple feeder arm including at least one forwardly extending finger pivotally mounted on each said bracket, means for normally biasing each said forwardly extending finger toward said staple support rail, whereby said finger may engage a staple supported by said staple support rail, said opening leading to said staple drive track having a relieved portion to accommodate each said finger whereby said finger may move away from the side of said staple support rail against said biasing means, and spring means normally urging said staple feeder carriage forwardly.

8. The magazine claimed in claim 7 including manually actuatable means for moving said staple feeder arm away from said staple support rail.

9. The magazine claimed in claim 8 wherein said manually actuatable means for moving said staple feeder arm away from said staple support rail comprises a manually actuatable lever secured to said staple feeder arm.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 200,774 2/78 Somers. 2,445,180 7/ 48 Maynard. 2,545,397 3/ 5 l Wampler. 2,637,029 5/53 Marano.

FOREIGN PATENTS 901,535 1/54 Germany.

GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, JR., Primary Examiner. 

1. A REAR END LOADING STAPLE MAGAZINE COMPRISING A STAPLE SUPPORT RAIL, A GUIDE TRACK PARALLEL TO AND OVERLYING SAID STAPLE SUPPORT RAIL, A STAPLE FEEDER CARRIAGE SLIDABLE ON SAID TRACK, SAID STAPLE FEEDER CARRIAGE INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE MOUNTING BRACKET EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THEREFROMAND SPACED APART FROM THE SIDE OF SAID STAPLE SUPPORT RAIL, A STAPLE FEEDER ARM PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID MOUNTING BRACKET, MEANS FOR NORMALLY BIASING SAID ARM AGAINST THE SIDE OF SAID STAPLE SUPPORT RAIL, MANUALLY ACTUATABLE MEANS FOR MOVING SAID STAPLE FEEDER ARM AWAY FROM SAID STAPLE SUPPORT RAIL AND SPRING MEANS NORMALLY URGING SAID STAPLE FEEDER CARRIAGE IN ONE DIRECTION. 